by Lisa Olsen
“Who’s been your top pick as the bad guy this whole time?” Nick asked, looking up from his stack of files. “Was it Jax May, or was that just Natalie’s obsession?”
Pettijohn waved that away. “No, we discounted May as a serious suspect weeks ago.”
“You did?”
“Yes, he alibied out for the second murder. We had a witness who placed him in another part of town at the time. Got a picture with him and everything.”
What the actual fuck? It was too much for Nick to grasp on top of everything else. Was nothing about this case what it seemed? “Did Fox know about this?
“Ah…” It took Pettijohn a few moments to pull up the information he was looking for. “Yes, she did. It was her refusal to accept this evidence that led to her being removed from the case.”
“I thought you said she was on leave?”
“She is. She took a personal leave after being removed from the case.”
“God, this is all so surreal,” Nick muttered, rubbing his hands across his eyes to clear them.
“Tell me about it,” Pettijohn smirked. “For a while we thought it was the manager, but we never got anything on him. I think it turned out he was just an asshole.”
The men gave the obligatory laugh, and Nick was glad the Fed showed signs of having a sense of humor. “Well, we’re back to square one now. Hopefully we’ll know more by the end of the day.”
“What do we think about Ruby May as a likely suspect?” Pettijohn asked, slipping on a pair of reading glasses as he picked up her file.
Nick hadn’t actually considered it before, but it was worth visiting. “She does share a basic physical type with all of the victims – before all the stage makeup,” he explained, digging out a picture of Ruby au naturel. “Personally, I think it’s highly unlikely she’s our guy. The lady is barely keeping it together, I don’t think she could manage to pull off a single killing, let alone a string of them. By all accounts she was extremely intoxicated at the time of our first murder here and she wasn’t alone last night, Rose Spencer was with her. We can bring her in though, it couldn’t hurt to talk to her.”
Pettijohn thought it over for a few. “I’ve talked to her before, and I’m inclined to agree, she’s pretty flakey. Get somebody to check on that alibi though, I’m not discounting anything this time.”
“Brady?”
“I’m on it, boss.”
The agent’s phone beeped, and he scrolled through the contents. “It looks like the stomach contents turned up coffee this time, not whiskey, but the GHB is a constant,” he reported. “No signs of a struggle, no sexual assault, yada, yada, yada… though the head trauma is new.” He looked up at the board, studying Angela Parker’s picture. “I don’t like this. She doesn’t fit the profile of the other victims at all.”
“Maybe the killer was desperate this time and had to hunt outside of her normal comfort zone?” Nick couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with the demon demanding a sacrifice that had freaked Annaliese out so badly, but he didn’t dare mention anything like that now. The Feds would bounce him off the case so fast it’d give him road rash.
They worked diligently through the morning, regrouping over a box of sandwiches after everyone returned to the precinct from their various errands. There was still no sign of Natalie. Four out of the six interviews with female employees had turned up zilch and Brady was able to confirm that Rose had been with Ruby all night, apart from Ruby’s brief trip to the precinct after calling their lawyer to get Jackson released.
Perry took the lead in the briefing, reciting what they’d learned with only a brief glance at her phone from time to time. “Angela Parker definitely doesn’t fit the role of Forsaken groupie. Not only did she attend the religious college, she played the cello, and we found no evidence that she owned a single one of the band’s songs. Her parents swore up and down she didn’t have a Forsaken tattoo, they saw her last weekend and the mom took her clothes shopping. The pair of them argued over whether or not she should get a two piece bathing suit, and there was no sign of a tattoo.”
That fit in with Anna’s vision of the killer manifesting the tattoo as part of a ritual, but Nick held his tongue on the matter. “Do they know what she was doing downtown that night?”
Park took over the narrative. “She has a regular study group that meets at a nearby café. We were able to speak to several of the members. They all remember seeing her that night, she stayed behind to work on a term paper. It wasn’t that unusual of an occurrence for her to pull an all nighter, so they didn’t question it.”
“What about the employees at the café?”
“The waitress remembers her,” said Perry. “The vic was a regular, she didn’t pay all that much attention to her except to occasionally refill the coffee. At one point she said she saw her talking to another woman, but couldn’t give me much of a description. She only saw her from behind, but when the woman didn’t sit and order, she ignored her. We pressed her and she told us the mystery woman was around five seven to five nine, dressed like another college student, in jeans and big shapeless jacket, like in our video. The hair was hidden under a knit cap, so she couldn’t guess at color. The only thing new she gave us was that she did remember this woman had on heels, because she remembered thinking she could never last more than an hour in those stilettos. The next time she looked over, they were both gone and there was a twenty on the table.”
“Let’s see if we can pull any surveillance video on the path between the café and the Sleepaway,” Pettijohn ordered. “There’s got to be an angle that shows her face.”
Nick wasn’t so sure. Most stores in the area had surveillance on the inside of their business only, and some of those only had cameras up for show. Still, it was a good idea and he set Brady on it. Before they all broke, he felt obligated to mention something that’d been weighing on him since Quinn put the seed of doubt into his head. It might not end up going anywhere, but he’d feel like crap if he didn’t at least bring it up.
“Guys,” he said, balling up his garbage and standing up. “I think we have to review the possibility that Fox could be involved in these killings.” He spoke about her irrational behavior, signs of stress, lack of sleep. The fact that she’d seduced May to get close to him. Those things, along with her blatant misdirection in the case, had to be addressed.
“She could be the one we’re looking for,” Park agreed. “For all we know, she’s had a thing for May for a long time. Every time a woman gets too close, she strikes out, and then deals with the guilt by creating this whole fantasy of searching for the killer.”
Nick shook his head. “That’s the part that trips me up, the motivation. Even if she did have an unhealthy fixation on May, would she kill her own cousin?”
“It’s hard to say, she’s not in the most rational of mindsets right now.” Park shrugged.
Perry’s brows drew together in confusion. “What’s this about a cousin?”
“When she first came to me about the murders, she admitted that the third victim, Julie Wilson, was her cousin. At the time I thought it explained her obsession with the case, but now…”
The female agent looked to Pettijohn, who gave her a slow nod. “Excuse me for a minute,” she said, stepping away with her phone.
“What was that about?” Nick asked.
“We screen for this sort of thing,” Pettijohn explained. “There’s too much at stake for an agent to become personally involved with any case. Before anyone is added to the team, they’re vetted for any connection.”
It took almost ten minutes for Perry to return, but when she did, her face was grim. “There is no record of Natalie Fox being related to Julie Wilson by any stretch of the word.”
“But I saw a picture of them together,” Nick started to protest, and Perry held her hand up.
“I did, however, discover that they both attended the same university.”
“Then she did know her.”
“But we hav
e absolutely no idea of what context they knew each other in. For all we know, they were frenemies and this whole thing is designed to mask the fact that she wanted to kill her off.”
“Let’s review the tape again,” Pettijohn suggested, and they all huddled around the monitor.
“It could be her,” Brady allowed. “She’s about the right height.”
“And she does own a pair of stiletto heels,” Nick frowned, remembering her outfit from the night of Rose’s party.
“You didn’t send a uniform to check up on her until well after the body was found,” Brady pointed out. “She would’ve had time to get back to Argent Flame easy.”
“Without her car?” Nick objected, not quite sure why he was sticking up for Natalie when he was the one who’d first brought up the idea that she might be a suspect. “The cop found her car on the site, she’s the only thing that was missing.”
“Maybe she took a cab? I’ll check the local trip sheets and see if anything pops,” Park offered.
“The body wasn’t found for at least an hour, that gave her plenty of time to get back to her stakeout before she was discovered missing,” said Pettijohn, studying the timeline closely. “She could’ve been in the process of disposing evidence when the black and white first drove by. Why else would she leave her post if she truly was obsessed with May?”
“Why would she kill an environmental science student though?” Brady wondered aloud. “That doesn’t fit the pattern at all.”
“Let’s reason this out,” said Perry, leading them through it. “She usually kills women that May associates with. But he’s been laying low, staying with an old friend. She knows she can’t kill the ex-girlfriend, or she’ll risk alienating Gibson, who she’s clearly fixated on as well. Or maybe she ultimately plans on killing Miss Cross, but since she’s staying at a friend’s house that night, it’s not an option.”
Nick wanted to object to the point about Natalie being fixated on him, but after reviewing her behavior, he realized Perry was probably right.
“She’s distraught,” the female agent continued. “Jax is buttoned up tight, she goes for a coffee and runs into the vic. Here’s a pretty blonde girl hitting the books who reminds her of her old college buddy. They strike up a conversation, maybe she has some other shared interest that ticks one of her boxes for crazy. The next thing you know, she micks the girl’s coffee and hustles her out of there.”
“Only this girl isn’t up for the usual shenanigans and Fox has to kosh her on the head before she can get to carving,” Pettijohn continued, his excitement growing. “Then it’s back to her stakeout, a quick trip to find an obscure garbage can to hide any incriminating evidence and she’s back on the job.”
“It listens,” Brady agreed, looking to Park who nodded her support as well.
It was good enough for Pettijohn, who started barking orders left and right. “I think we have enough probable cause to pop her hotel room. Perry, go on down there and see what you can find in there, take Park with you and try to obtain a DNA sample. I want to see if we can match her to any of the samples that came out of those motel rooms. Also, canvas her hotel, see if there are any other witnesses that might shed some light on Fox’s movements. Let’s get a picture of Fox and take it to the waitress at the café and see if she can ID her as the mystery woman.” He rubbed his hands together with pleasure. “I’m getting that old tingle. I think we’re finally on to something.”
“I’ll take the café,” Brady volunteered. “I could use a good strong cup of joe.”
“Great, I’ll email you her picture from personnel.”
It didn’t escape Nick that he’d been given no specific task, and he wondered if that was intentional or not. After all, Pettijohn hadn’t given himself any assignment either. “I guess I’ll focus on conducting the last two interviews we need for the female employees of Forsaken,” he volunteered.
“Oh right, good idea,” Pettijohn agreed easily. “Also, what ever happened to those threatening fan letters you mentioned earlier?”
“Ah… I gave Natalie that whole box of letters,” Nick realized, his face glum. They’d probably never see them again.
“Oh shit, the letters. I forgot all about them.” Brady shook his head. “Yep, I’d say those are long gone now.”
Pettijohn let out a sigh. “We’ve got enough to focus on without drawing another crazy into it. I’d better get on the horn to Barrow and bring him up to speed. We’ll need the rest of the team here.”
Swell, that meant they’d be overrun with Feds before nightfall. For the moment, Nick tried not to let it bother him as he pondered the new direction the case had taken. Not completely convinced of Natalie’s guilt, he couldn’t help but wonder where Annaliese’s visions fit into everything. What about the tattoo, the incantation, and the stench of evil that clung to the room? If Natalie was the killer, did she know more about the occult than she let on?
Chapter Thirty-Four
Annaliese drove to Nick’s house with the window open, half worried she might fall asleep at the wheel. Still, she managed to get Veronica up and going, making them both some breakfast while the teen spent an hour in the bathroom getting ready. It was awfully early, but she tried calling Rose, figuring she might be awake since Ruby had already been up and around. All she got was her voicemail.
It looked like a girl bomb had gone off in the upstairs bathroom as she dropped off Veronica’s bagel. Cosmetics and hair accessories covered every free inch of space, but Anna had to admit, she admired the results. Veronica’s bright blue highlights had been meticulously curled, framing her face with soft waves that caught the light when she moved.
“School’s almost out, are you excited about summer vacation?”
Veronica met her gaze in the mirror, adding a final touch of lipstick. “That all depends. Did you ask Dad yet?”
“No, I haven’t, not with everything going on.”
“Yeah, I know, but school will be out after next week. If there’s one thing I’ve learned with him, you can’t wait until there’s a good time, because a cop’s life is seriously made of crazy.”
“Good advice,” Anna agreed after a moment’s thought. “I’ll talk to him about it the next time I see him, craziness or none. Listen, here’s your bus fare, what time does it leave?”
Veronica pocketed the cash, checking the time on her phone before she slipped it away as well. “Gah, in like two minutes, I’d better go.” Tucking the bagel between her teeth, she grabbed her messenger bag and scooted out of the bathroom. “Oh, the curling iron…”
“I’ve got it, you’d better hurry. Have a great day!” Annaliese called out after her, smiling as she reached over to unplug the thing. For a moment she considered tidying up the space, but then thought back to when she was a teen. Her sister had hated it when she touched her things, and she didn’t want to overstep. Instead, she locked up the house, jaw cracking as she yawned her way back up the stairs to climb into Nick’s bed, asleep almost from the moment her head hit the pillow.
It was Nick’s call that woke her just after lunchtime, and Anna answered the phone with a sleepy, “H’lo?”
“Crap, did I wake you?”
“Mmhmm, but that’s okay. I got in a pretty good nap. How are you? You must be exhausted.”
“Nah, thanks to the coffee I’ve been mainlining, I’ve got my second wind,” he joked. “Listen, I wanted to ask you more about this demon sacrifice thing.”
Annaliese scooted higher in the bed. “It’s not as much a sacrifice as an offering. Think of it like… you want to succeed in something, like solving this case. Well, a Christian might pray to God for guidance, a Pagan to the Goddess Athena for wisdom, et cetera. This is sort of like that. The killer is praying to the demon or entity or whatever it is in order to receive some benefit.”
“What kind of benefit?”
“It depends on what they’re praying for. It could be something very specific, or as simple as wanting Mael to manifest so she can share in
the feeling of power. But it never lasts, that’s why she has to keep invoking him again and again.”
“Okay, so it’s not like the killer is possessed by the demon and then kills the victims. It’s not controlling her?”
“No, the murder is not the act of the demon. It’s the death that helps to invoke it, not the other way around, if that makes sense.”
“Oh.”
“You sound disappointed,” she said, smiling over his dejected tone. “Would you rather have a demon running around your streets killing at will? I can guarantee you, that’s a much messier scenario.”
“I didn’t think of it like that. No, it’s just that things are looking like Natalie might be our killer and I thought…”
“You thought maybe it wasn’t her fault if she was being possessed by the demon?” She couldn’t blame him, but she wasn’t about to lie to soothe his feelings. Better he knew what he was up against. “I’m sorry, that’s not the feeling I got at all from the vision. It was a deliberate act by the killer before Mael responded.”
“Ah well. Not that it would’ve made a lick of difference in catching her, she’s got to pay for her crimes. I just can’t figure out how she could be into this stuff and I never knew it.”
“I did tell you I sensed negative energy around her, only I never thought…”
“No, it’s okay. It’s not your fault,” he interrupted. “She had us all fooled. So listen, I’ll let you get back to sleep. Mostly I wanted to hear your voice and give you a heads up about Natalie in case she showed up. Whatever you do, don’t let her in and don’t engage her in any way. She’s clearly unstable and we don’t know what she’ll do. If you see her, give me a call and I’ll be right there.”
“Can I tell Jax?”
“Absolutely, and Rose too. In fact, the more we can spread the word that we’re looking to find Natalie, the better. Oh, Jax has been completely cleared, by the way. Apparently the real FBI hasn’t considered him a suspect for weeks. Whether he remembers it or not, a fan came forward and gave him an alibi for one of the murders, had a picture and everything.”